Post-election Statements from All Seven City Council Candidates

Posted 4/11/12 – New Council member John Capoccia, elected to one of two 4-year seats in the regular election last night, has issued the following statement to the News Net following last night’s election:

“First, my congratulations to Chris Koerber and John Harabedian for their victories. I’m honored to serve along side them as we all work to fulfill our respective commitments to preserve this great town for present and future generations. My sincere regrets to candidates Gene Goss, Colin Braudrick, Bill Tice and especially to MaryAnn MacGillivray, who has worked tirelessly for the sake our city. I admire her immensely, and I will miss her contributions and leadership. All the candidates are terrific people and are to be commended for their effort in reaching out to the voters, and for displaying remarkable civility.

“I want to thank all my supporters who believed in me and worked so hard to help me connect with Sierra Madre’s citizens. I especially want to thank all the voters of Sierra Madre for their record turnout in this election. This confirms for me that Sierra Madreans are engaged, involved, are paying attention to the issues, and care deeply about our town. I promise to continue to listen closely and carefully, and I’m looking forward to working with my fellow council members in a collaborative way to meet the expectations of our citizens.

“Thanks again to everyone. I’m deeply honored and humbled to be entrusted to represent the wonderful people of Sierra Madre for the next four years.”

John Harabedian, who garnered the most votes in the 5-person election for two 4-year seats in the regular election, had this to say: “As a kid growing up in Sierra Madre, I never imagined I would have the honor to serve on City Council. I am truly humbled and invigorated. Now it’s time to get to work. Thank you to everyone who voted, and especially to those who supported me. I look forward to serving as your representative for the next four years and tackling the challenges facing Sierra Madre. Congratulations to all the candidates, especially John Capoccia and Chris Koerber, for taking part in a spirited campaign. Thank you to MaryAnn MacGillivray for her 12 years of service to the City. And thank you to two leaders and friends, Colin Braudrick and Gene Goss, for whom I have the utmost respect.”

Chris Koerber, who won the special election for the two years remaining on Joe Mosca’s vacated seat, had this to say in a statement he issued to the News Net: “I am honored and humbled to be the people of Sierra Madre’s choice as city councilman for the two-year seat. This election came at an extremely important time for the city, and being selected by my fellow citizens shows that the city is ready for a councilman who will work for clarity, community, and economic accountability. My fiscal expertise and dedication to maintaining the character of our village community will ensure that Sierra Madre can continue to be the unique town that it is while meeting its fiscal obligations in a responsible way.

I thank the many volunteers who helped out my campaign by phone banking, walking neighborhoods, and spreading the word about my candidacy. I sincerely congratulate the other candidates who won city council seats, and extend a hearty congratulations to my opponent, Colin Braudrick, for a well-fought race. I look forward to serving the citizens of Sierra Madre on City Council for the next two years. ”

Colin Braudrick, who was defeated by Koerber, told us this: “I want to thank all of my supporters, we fought the good fight. I want to congratulate Chrs Koerber on his victory and wish him luck.

We may have lost, but our voices were heard. We ran a positive campaign, and upheld integrity throughout, which might have cost us the race, but was worth it. I hope that this process has brought the City closer to healing and that someday the rancor and divisiveness will end.”

From Gene Goss: “I wish to congratulate John Harabedian, John Cappocia and Chris Koerber on their victories. Also, I wish to thank Mary Ann MacGillivray for her years of service to our community. And from the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of my supporters in town. Sierra Madre is the finest city in America because of our people. I am confident that our town’s future is bright!”

We have now also heard back from MaryAnn MacGillivray. Here’s what MaryAnn had to say: “Thank you to all the voters of Sierra Madre for such a great turn-out; the power of government is in its people. Congratulations to John Capoccia, John Harabedian and Chris Koerber. The challenges are great, but I expect that you will all rise to the occasion to protect the unique character of our village in a fiscally responsible way. I am grateful for the trust my fellow Sierra Madreans placed in me for the 12 years I served as a council member. It is a daunting responsibility to be a civil servant and one that I took very seriously. Most especially, I thank the volunteers who helped in my campaign and all my supporters in town. ”

Said Bill Tice: “My first response is, it doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. If I want something from the City Council, I’ll go down and work on trying to get it. I’m very discouraged at development. I ran against development and people don’t vote for me, but I don’t think it’s sad, they just don’t like me…Oh, and I wanted to say thank you to Susan at the paper, she did a real nice article about me.”